Tag Archives: women

Okay, hmm… I think this is an interesting Momversation. But in the editing room it became more about guns specifically than I had intended it to be. I think Rebecca and Alice all have great commentary in this.

My larger point was more about reinforcing my daughters “tomboy” (for lack of a better word) or fiesty side. Much the same way that I didn’t shut her down when over dinner she told her dad to “x-it, that means be quiet” when she was telling a story. I think girls become woman who silence themselves and defer. Why do you think there are so few woman in talk radio?

And with this super hero/fantasy play, I think kids are trying on different hats, and I am not going to declaw her when she will need them out in the world.

And to squash these impulses is against this little thing called human nature.

For anyone who missed the NY Times Sunday magazine, boy, was it an eye opener. Nicholas Kristof, who I love following on Twitter, and his wife Sheryl WuDunn have written a book called Half of the Sky: Turning Oppression into Opportunity for Women Worldwide. In it, they say human rights for women is the paramount moral challenge of this century. Here is the excerpt they had in the magazine. Now, they aren’t talking about Title IX or maternity leave. All important things, but they are writing about the need to address the severe brutality and even murder that women and young girls face in many developing nations.photo credit: annrkiszt

A lot of the horrors I have read before, but there are still more doozies. Awful. And some of the solutions are so easy, micro-lending. It’s very humbling to read their work. I was raised a feminist, but it’s easy to go about life and not deal with how horribly women are treated in many parts of the world. There is growing recognition that if you improve the lot of women you improve the society at large. That’s why I say it’s MORE than half the sky. Also, in the essay, they say men of the developing nation they don’t spend money as wisely as women do. If a women gets $5 she will buy a mosquito tent so her babies don’t get malaria; they guy uses the $5 for drink.

The whole magazine had great stuff, including a good article by Lisa Belkin (who guests on Momversation with me) about how in the days of suffrage, wealthy women did not support women (I would guess it was because they didn’t control the purse strings), but now wealthy women are supporting women’s causes.

I’m going to investigate the best way to effect change in this regard… knowing I’m distracted, selfish, and have a short attention span. Maybe finding a place to donate to a micro-lending organization. Let me know if you have any ideas.